7 Sure-Fire Secrets to Cope with Anxiety

Are you troubled by an abrupt, intense fear for no apparent reason? Do you feel your heart pounding? Do you experience sweating all over your body? Do your hands tremble or shake? Do you have shortness of breath and chest pains? Do you feel nausea and some abdominal discomfort, dizziness and light-headedness? Do you feel like your legs are made of jelly? Do you have some fear of dying, traveling without a companion or fear of crowded places?

Anxiety Disorders Association of America explains that you may suffer from "Panic Attack Disorder" if you have at least 4 of the symptoms above. The signs occur spontaneously without warning and reach a peak for a few minutes.

Otherwise, anxiety is a normal part of life and nothing to be worried about. It can actually be seen as something positive because it brings out the best in a person. If a student has an upcoming test, those anxiety feelings will help him move towards the direction of studying.

Anxiety brings so much physical discomfort that people tend to wish they can handle stress more efficiently. No one wants to be caught by other people flustered. You hate your parents, supervisors or your co-workers fussing about your short attention span, difficulty in remembering important events or your tense disposition. You feel vulnerable when other people see your hands shaking or your voice quivering. No matter how much you want to remain calm and outward collective, anxiety takes its toll on other physical symptoms like ulcers, allergies, headaches and other illnesses.

Common Causes of Anxiety

Dr. Gary Collins in his Christian Counseling Library Manual notes that the common causes of anxiety are threats, conflicts, fears, and separation from others. However, each of these causes, in itself, is not the anxiety trigger. It is how you perceive these that cause anxieties. How do you respond to threats, your fears, conflict situations and separation from others? Are you afraid of becoming hurt or rejected? Do you feel afraid to fail?

7 Secrets to Deal with Anxieties

1. Accept anxiety as part of life

New situations, dentist appointments, public speaking, taking tests, dealing with in-laws, arguments within family and relatives, debts, difficult bosses are some of the most common circumstances where people experience anxieties in their lives.

The success of one person in coping with stress is a conscious effort to psyche oneself that anxiety is a necessary part of life. And, that though you cannot avoid it, you can choose to take steps to it cut down to manageable levels.

2. Assess your exercise, diet, sleep patterns

You must assess your eating habits. Never go on a crash diet. It alters the chemicals in your body. Instead, consult your family physician to the many diet plans that will work for your situation.

Exercises such as brisk walking, aerobics, sports activities are fool-proof ways to help you respond to anxieties. Many view exercises as time-consuming. But, psychiatrists and counselors attest to the positive benefits of a regular exercise regimen.

We cannot discount getting the right amount of sleep everyday. When you are rested, you are not impatient with people around you. Each of us has serotonin levels that are likened to a tank in our brains. If we lack sleep, the level of serotonin decreases dramatically causing us to be depressed.

3. Ensure a relaxed atmosphere at home and work

Take a look around you at home or at work. Find out which rooms do you stay quite often. What color is your room? Do you have wallpaper that has confusing patterns? Is your floor, storage areas, desk, working area filled with clutter? Do you play upbeat, loud music to keep you alert each day? Do you work with people who are highly talkative? The room layout, furniture arrangements, noise will all tend to prevent you from relaxing.

Strive to put in your working areas some items that help you relax. Classical or soft music, plants, flower arrangements, ergonomic furniture and accessories are good things to have at work.

4. Make friends

Find ways to meet new people. If you are super duper busy, you can start some online friendships. At the same time, do not isolate yourself from the real world by going online too often. Actual friendships from your church, clubs, associations, neighbors help you talk to someone else who will be willing to listen. But of course, opening yourself to friendship means that you have to reach out and care about another human being. Friendship entails a lot of sharing and listening. You must be prepared to be vulnerable to the other person.

These friendships will be your source of strength and encouragement when you feel anxious about life. Many people who experience intense anxieties are isolated and have a difficult time communicating their feelings and needs. Friendship helps you find the funny things and humor in life.

5. Change destructive thought patterns

Do you look and think at the world around you and situations in a negative way? For example, many people think over and over if the new person they are going to meet will like them or not? Or if the new person will be critical of the way they dress. Or they will appear to make a fool of themselves. What causes anxiety is the fear inside of you and not of the new person that you are going to meet.

One must remove these negative thought patterns. Instead, you must base things from your past experiences that the worse that can happen may not be at all that bad. The famous Serenity Prayer, written by Reinhold Niebuhr, theologian and quoted from Wikipedia shows a positive way to view things in life.

"God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things that should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other."

There are many practical ways to deal with an anxiety-filled situation. You can walk away for awhile to regroup your thoughts. You can ask yourself what you are going to do first, second, third, etc. and then decide to start immediately. You can plan ahead of the situation. Decide what you want and find out how to get there.

6. Do relaxation techniques as a habit

Anxiety makes your muscles very tense. Group the muscles in your body by sections. The pattern is to move the body part, tighten the muscles, then relax it. Breathe in slowly and count to 5 and exhale slowly.

Before you begin, loosen your clothing, remove your eyeglasses, ties or anything that restricts movement. Go to each muscle group 5 times.

Begin with your toes. Wiggle your toes for a minute or so. Tighten the muscles then relax. Go to your ankles. Then go to your calves, thighs, legs, buttocks, back, arms, fingers, shoulders, neck and head. Tighten, stretch, relax your muscles.

Make it a practice of a habit twice a day until you can make your body relax at will. Remember that when you are relaxed, you can think clearly.

What if you do all of the above and you cannot still relax?

7. Seek God through Scriptures and Charity

Ask God to help you overcome these anxieties. Stop worrying. Rejoice that we have a God that watches over us. Meditate on His Words. Look into His Greatness by volunteering to help people that are less fortunate than you. Then, you will realize that your worries are just tiny bits of what other people are experiencing. St. Ignatius of Loyola once asked our Lord in his popular prayer, "Lord, teach me to be generous". When we are generous, our thoughts are directed towards others. Generosity brings a peace in your heart and gives you rest from your anxieties. Remember, the opposite of anxiety is peace.

Sources:

Panic Self-test, Anxiety Disorders Association of America

Christian Counseling Manual, Gary R. Collins, Ph.D.

The Serenity Prayer, Wikipedia

Prayer for Generosity, St. Ignatius of Loyola, Catholic-forum.com